Clean Monday

Clean Monday is national Greek holiday. It marks the start of the Lent for the Greek Orthodox church. This holiday is celebrated by kite flying on Philopappos Hill, one of the many hills that surround Athens. This is picture of my friends attempting a kite. It was really difficult. We tried for about a hour but we never managed to get it far off the ground. Oh well.

There was a live Greek band there playing on the hill too. They were really good. They used traditional Greek instruments. We could hear the music from a really far distance away.

This the Pynx Hill where we tried to fly our kite. It's a smaller hill next to Philopappos Hill, which was really crowded. The Acropolis is on the right (obviously) and Lykabettus Hill is in the background. Lykabettus Hill the highest hill surrounding Athens.

These are deep fried dough balls covered in melted Nutella or chocolate (I'm not sure what it was, but it was amazing). This is would be the Greek equivalent of the funnel cake in an American fair. In fact, the whole atmosphere of Clean Monday is like a fair or a festival. There are street venders of popcorn, roasted corn, roasted nuts, drinks, souvlaki, and these fried dough balls. Venders also sell kites and balloons. There are also street entertains playing music. It was a wonderful day.

Marathon!

Hey people!

I went to Marathon on a school-sponsored trip. I had a great time even though it was overcast with rain and windy. Here are some of the pictures I took. Enjoy!

Here's the tomb at Marathon of the 192 Athenians killed at Marathon when they fought against the Persian invasion in 480 BCE. As you can see, it's a really large mound of earth. And since it's a tomb, you aren't allowed to walk on it of course. (One of the girls in my group asked why people weren't allowed to walk on it. Really?) Anyways, it was neat. It's located in a grove of olive trees. There's also a marble statue imitation of the original grave stone at the site. Here's what it looks like.

We also saw graves from the Middle Helladic Period. There were seven graves. They all had these nifty plastic windows so the people walking through wouldn't throw trash into them. One of the graves still had bones it it. Cool! There's a foundation of a tomb-like structure in the background.

After we saw the Middle Helladic graves, we saw the Archaeological

Museum of Marathon. Then we went to Ramnous, a small area near Marathon. These are the remains of Temple of Nemesis. There are two buildings placed next to each other that make up the Temple. It overlooks the acropolis of Ramnous and the Mediterranean Sea. The day was rather overcast so there aren't any fantastic pictures of the Mediterranean Sea or of the acropolis I can show you. Not cool.

After eating lunch near the Temple of Nemesis, we went to the beach. It sounds exciting, which it was, but it was really windy and rainy now so it was a little bit of a disappointment. There were kite surfers on the beach as you can see here. These guys were really dedicated because the water was definitely chilly and the wind was very strong.

Overall, it was a great trip to Marathon. You should definitely check it out!

Reporting Live from Athens!

Hey people!

It's been, like, eons since I've written anything. (Stupid faulty internet in IL over winter break). And now I'm pleased to report that I'll be reporting from Greece for the next few months while I'm hanging out with my human while she's studying over here. Anyways, the flights over were fine and I've been chilling out in the Mediterranean sun. Despite that it's the Mediterranean, however, it's been cold (relatively speaking) here. It's only in the 40s F some days, and it's rained a few times. Here are some pictures of fun things I've done while over here though.

Here's me looking at the map of where I live. I know that the pictures isn't the best, but I'll describe it. (This is as large as I could get it). Do you see the horseshoe shape? That the Athens Stadium, where the first modern Olympic Games were held, and it's completed made of white marble. It's a stone's throw across from the school. By the crease in the middle of the map, there's a street called Stassinou. That's where I live. It's directly south of the light blue square.

Since I'm in Athens, I have to practice my modern Greek. Here are the numbers in the textbook. I've discovered that modern Greek is definitely harder than ancient Greek. That's just what I think (and Erika definitely agrees).

I went on a weekend walking trip with Erika and one of her roommates to Olympian Park. It was only about a half hour walk away so nothing terrible. I'm sitting outside the wall on a large piece of marble. The columns beyond the wall are the tops of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. They are huge! It was amazing that's for sure.

That's all for now. I'll be posting again really soon now that I have a stable internet connection again. I'll have enough fun for everyone while over here, basking in the Mediterranean sun (and making sure that Erika continues to do all her homework). See ya!